Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1887-11-11


4 correspondent asks about the Trusts
which are now organizing throughout the
country. They are practically great mo
nopolies For instance, the large sugar re
fners in all parts of the Union pool their
interests upon certain terms, which are
believed 10y them to be, upon the whole. ad-
vantagcous enough to justify the action.
They agree upon certain rates and courses.
and the public result is that they control
the price of sugar To the consumer. 1t is
but another illustration of the tendency to
the consolidation Of capital which is famil.
iarly illustrated in the aggregation Of rail
road interests, and results in the develop
ment of new and most powerful agent in
modern affairs 4 few weeks since Mr.
Depew. the president Of the Central rail
road, was reported 10 have said that the
twelve or fifteen thousand employees Of the
road voted as they pleased. and he thought
that they generally or often voted for the
party which he opposed Mr.. Depew is
quite beyond the suspicion of unfairly influ-
encing the vote Of any man But his re
mark is very Suggestive.
Political committees Of the Adminstra-
tion party have been long in the habit Of
levyiug heavy assessments upon the public
employees, and Of requiring their activity as
well rs votes at the polls. Senator German 5
ring in MARYLAND eXtorted about S3O, 900
from the federal Office holders to help carry
this election, and as much more from the
state and city employees, and probably the
candidates upon the ring ticket gave or
pledged two-thirds of their prospective sal
aries for the same object Ii is a remorse-
less desp ,tism, and whether under Republi
can or Democratic ascendency, the EN-
ploye of the government gives and votes as
he is directed Consolidated private corpo-
ratiOns of course, have the same power.
As Webster said, to control a mans means
of livelihood is to control the man. 1t is
easily conceivable that corporation like
the Central railroad might say TO its en-
ployes that its interests required the cleo
tion Of a certain candidate and that it
could not retain employees who voted against
its interests. The same thing is conceiva-
BILE of the Sugar Trust or of any other
Trust extending over the whole country.
The chief of trades union conducting a
strike said to the employers You organ
ize a monopoly SO as to have things your
own way, and you cannot complain of us
for trying to do the same thing If we try
to diminish the number of workmen in our
trade and to keep up wages, you try 10 re-
duce production and keep up prices If we
deny individual independence, 50 do you,
and We both do it for the same object
that is, our advantage as a class" The
Sugar Trust aims at monopoly in sugar,
as trades union combination aims at d
monopoly in labor. The tendency is uni
versal, and issues in one Of the gravest
problems of the time Politically it organ
ICES interests and destroys political indepen.
dence Morally it abolishes the individual
self-respect which is the true basis of tn,
state 1t is a striking form of the social
ism which appears in many of the tenden-
cies Of modern activity, and whose worst
result is the destruction of the elf-reliance
which is the most precious quality in hu
! man society.